Reasons We Love The Marauders
by AshNox
Summary: The GRYFFINDOR GIRLS have written lists explaining why THEY love each of the Marauders. James is jealous, Remus is sick of being teased and Sirius is acting very strangely indeed.
1. Reasons we love Remus Lupin

**Ch.1**

"Worm, get me drink." Sirius said, walking into the room, face buried in a long curl of parchment. "And get Moony one too." He snapped, seeing Peter had only poured one glass.

"Thanks a bunch, Pads." James scowled, coming in behind him. "Don't I qualify for waitress service?"

"I poured you one, when I was doing mine." Peter nodded to James's bedside cabinet before carefully filling a second glass for Remus.

"_You _didn't get ripped to pieces in an involuntary transformation four nights ago, Prongs." Sirius reminded him. He sat down on the bed, flicked his thick black hair girlishly away from his face and cleared his throat...

"I love him because he's quiet, bookish and shy around girls." Sirius read, his voice attempting high-pitched and feminine. "He's so serious... He's kind... You could tell him anything... He's trust worthy... Honest and decent and lovely... Not bloke-y, more sort of cute and adorable... Why does he hang around with those idiots? He never shows off... _And he's really clever_... I think he just works really hard... His grades aren't that good... _But that's because he's ill a lot_... I feel so sorry for him... I just love him. I want to hug him... I'd rather kiss him... No, he's mine all mine... He's mine... He's so sweet... I love the scar on his cheek... I do to. He's so brave... I think he'd never hurt anyone's feelings, ever... I want to marry him... Mm mm. So do I... Did I mention he's got the most amazing eyes, and his fringe falls in them when he's thinking about things... And he has a nice ars..." Sirius laughed, resting up on his elbows.

"_So_, who am I talking about?" He asked, trying to quell his mirth.

"Peter." James said. Peter laughed.

Remus took a mouthful of Pumpkin Juice and fixed Sirius with a look.

"I take exception to so much of that." He said, darkly.

"I didn't write it, Moony." Sirius assured him. "Although I also think you have a nice a... pair of eyes. I found it in the common room; it could have been about _anyone_."

"Wasn't it titled 'Reasons we love Remus Lupin?" James asked.

"That _is _the title." Sirius agreed. "But that could be a misleading rouse. Would you like to hear 'Reasons we love James Potter' next, or 'Reasons we love Peter Pettigrew'!"

"Really?" James asked. "And does 'Reasons we love Sirius Black' not exist?"

"Of course it does." Sirius laughed.

"Do me." Peter said. "James doesn't care, unless it was written by Lily."

"It was written by 'The Sixth Year Girls'. If I know Lily's writing, and I like to pretend I do, she is in the 'Reasons we love Remus Lupin' camp."

"Yes, she does love me." Remus agreed. "Actually, I _do _know her handwriting. Pass it over, Pads, and I'll tell you what she said."...She thinks I have a nice arse." Remus said, glancing down the paper.

"She does not!" James shouted. Remus yawned at him.

"Does she makes the 'o' in Potter into a little heart shape, when she writes your name, Prongs?" He asked, sweetly. James pushed his glasses up his nose and scowled.

"No. But not because she doesn't love me."

"I think she may have put a reason that she loves each of us." Remus added, turning the page over to scan Sirius's list which filled the entire back side of the document. He glanced down it, eyebrows rising.

"I stopped half way through." Sirius muttered.

"Because it was _that _long?" Peter asked. "Did you think they'd fancy you less with your enormously big swollen head?"

"God, I hope that's not innuendo." James said, grimly enough to make them laugh.

"..._This is worse than mine_." Remus said, still reading the list of reasons that Sirius was loved by Sixth Year Gryffindor girls. _"This is_..."

"What is it, Moony?" James sniggered, cheering up as he took in Remus's deeply offended expression.

"...A big pile of _rubbish._" Remus said.

"_Why don't you write your own list, Moony?_!" James and Peter both said, at exactly the same time. They both roared with laughter.

Remus lowered the list and sighed, witheringly, at the pair of them."...Reasons we fancy Sirius Black." He read softly.

"Reasons' _you _fancy Sirius Black?" James clarified, trying not to laugh. Remus scowled at him.

"Just do Prongs, instead." Sirius said. "His list is so short; it should only take a second."

"Reasons we love James Potter." Remus read. "He came second out of the entire year in Transfig. Which is impressive, although second is the biggest looser and he was beaten by a girl... He's not great at Quidditch, but now all the good players have left he's been made Captain, which is cool if you like Quidditch, although if you do you're probably male..."

"Read it properly!" James snapped. "Or you're banned from reading." Remus shrugged and passed the parchment to Peter, who cleared his throat and, like Sirius, adopted his best girl-voice. He began.

"Reasons we love James Potter...


	2. Reasons we love James & Peter

**Ch.2**

"Reasons we love James Potter.

"He is stupendously funny... He always sticks up for his friends... He is the best Quidditch player, in the world, ever..."

"How is that a loveable quality?" Remus asked.

"Did anyone interrupt your list?" Peter asked.

"Only because we thought Sirius's was finally confessing his true feelings." James said, with another toothy grin.

"He is the best Quidditch player in the world, ever... He's fearless... He does amazing things and never gets caught... He's the funniest Marauder... He has a rude nickname... His hair is sexy... And so are his glasses... I love the way he pushes them up his nose when he's in trouble... James Potter is brilliant... He just knows how to do stuff and never struggles with anything. My jaw is always on the floor... He flies like a demi-god. And he's good with the team. Life is never boring when James is around. I just love him. I love him _because _he loves Lily so much. He is fearless, shameless and adorable. And he never gives up. We love you, James."

"Do me." Peter said, passing the parchment to James. "I would actually like to hear some girls say nice things about me."

"There isn't one about you." James said, turning it over. "The rest is all Sirius."

"Shut up. I just saw it." Peter said. "Do me, James. Please do me."

"Maybe _that _is innuendo?" Remus suggested, to Sirius.

"Not very subtle innuendo either." Sirius agreed. James frowned at them both and cleared his throat, attempting suggestively and husky.

"Reasons we love Peter Pettigrew... He is cute, like a little mouse..." He broke off, trying hard not to laugh. "Sorry, Peter." He assured him. "Just didn't expect that...

"His cheeks are lovely. Especially when he blushes... He puts up with loads of abuse from his friends and he always sticks up for them... He takes the blame to get his mates out of trouble... He's nice to people even when they aren't nice to him... He's got nice hair... And a nice laugh... There's nothing scary about him... He's quite shy, but he'll help you with homework if you ask... He's good at potions and he knows loads about history... I think he'd make a very loyal boyfriend... And he wouldn't judge you. He's brave. He's not frightening. He doesn't show off. He's trustworthy and he likes a laugh. I love his grin when he's done something dodgy with the rest of the Marauders. I'd love him to be my boyfriend. I think we'd be great together."

"You are totally _in _there, Peter!" Sirius laughed. "Whose handwriting is that, Moony?"

"I don't know _everybody's _handwriting." Remus assured him. "That would be creepy."

"I think you're creepy, Moony." James offered. "Also you're the only one who hasn't read. Why don't you tell us why you love Sirius Black?"

Remus took the parchment and sat back on his bed. "Fine." He turned it over, and glanced at it before clearing his throat and beginning briskly. "Reasons we love Sirius Black...


	3. Reasons we love Sirius Black

"Reasons we love Sirius Black. He is the most handsome person ever to walk on the earth, ever... I love Sirius Black for the same reason everyone does. He is jaw-droppingly handsome... He has eyes like limpid..."

Remus broke off. He sighed, looking up at them. "They all love you." He said, to Sirius. "They all think you look terrific, specifically your eyes, hair, face, eyes, arms, hands, and chest and eyes some more. They like your clothes, notably your dress robes, your Quidditch kit, your school robes and a variety of different outfits you've worn into Hogsmead over the last year or so. They also love that you have family issues; that you are mad, and most of all that you are 'Sirius Black'."

"If it makes you feel any better, Moony." James said, kindly. "I'm sure you could beat any one of those love-hungry girls in a bitch-fight."

"But maybe not all of them together." Peter admitted. "Unless it was a full moon."

"Funny though you both think you are, I am going to loose patience with that joke in a minute." Remus told him. "Do you want to know what Lily said she loved about you, Prongs, or not?"

"Do you really know her handwriting?" James asked, uneasily.

"The Reason she loves you is..." He glanced up to enjoy James anxious expression."...Because you are brilliant."

"Well, that's really nice." Sirius said, surprised.

"Ha! I am _brilliant_!" James punched the air. "Are you sure she said that? Lily loves me because I am brilliant!"

"Technically she loves us all for something." Remus pointed out. "She loves Sirius because... he is handsome."

"Lily said_..__. what_?" James asked, comically crestfallen."..._That_?"

"Yes."

"Lily said... Because he's so handsome? But, but... But that's... But, so, but handsome is just... So, if he had a face damaging accident...?"

"I hope you're joking!" Sirius snapped, sitting up fast. "What have I ever done to you, Prongs!?"

"Well, _what the hell_, Sirius!" James said, angrily. "I _love _Lily! I have loved her forever! You're supposed to be my best friend!"

"_I didn't do anything! You freak_!" Sirius said, equally angrily. "I _hate _my genes, James! You know I do! My face is like a scary clone of every other face in my family! Do you know how creepy that is! Do you know why my family all look so alike?!"

"That's not the point! Lily is Lily! It's wrong! And... And... If you hate it that much, why don't you change your face?! I could help you!"

"I don't bloody think so!" Sirius assured him.

"_Stop_!" Remus leapt off his bed, catching Sirius arm. "I'm _sorry_." He said, sincerely. "Pads, I'm sorry. That isn't what Lily said. I am really sorry. She said you are crazy. I was just... It's very similar handwriting... Sorry."

"_Similar handwriting_!" James exploded. "You liar! You think you're _so _funny, don't you?!"

"No. I don't." Remus assured him. "It's a bunch of girls' handwriting, Prongs! It looked the same."

"You said that on purpose!" James shouted at him. "For a laugh! Now you're saying you didn't so Sirius isn't angry with you!"

"_I read it wrong_!" Remus told him. "I swear I did. Look how similar they are."

"You'd swear to anything!" James spat back, angrily. "You're lying because you were trying to upset me and you upset Sirius instead!"

"_You _upset Sirius." Remus shouted at him. "Because you're a self-obsessed, spoilt, idiot!"

"You're a creepy, manipulative, liar!" James screeched back. "You're lying, _again_! Nobody trusts you because you lie all the time! And Sirius hates that more than anything!"

James ran out of steam. _Sirius hates you_, was a rubbish insult. Although it looked like it had done the job. That and the 'creepy, manipulative, liar' comment.

The parchment glided slowly from Remus's hand to the floor. There was a pause before he walked out.

"...He _is _lying." James said, bitterly. "He did say that on purpose." Sirius rolled off his bed and also took himself out of the room.


	4. Remus is the creepy one, Peter?

James sighed, at the awful state of things. He sighed at himself.

"Why does Remus lie all the time?" He asked, as much to the world in general as to Peter, who presumably didn't know either.

"I don't know." Peter said, quietly. He snatched up the 'Reasons we love' parchment, peering at it.

"I'm not spoilt." James said.

"You're great. And you're much more Lily-obsessed than self-obsessed." Peter pointed out.

"And Remus _does_ lie." James reminded him, although Peter knew as well as James did. "And he _is _manipulative."

"He is. He flew off the handle because _he_ upset Sirius." Peter said, coming to sit on James's bed with him. "He lied because he was trying to wind _you_ up, but instead he made Sirius say all that personal stuff about his face and his family. It _is _very creepy for him to care that much about Sirius liking him, anyway."

"And stupid." James pointed out. "Sirius likes honest people, who'll be straight with him."

"The writing does look very alike." Peter interrupted, showing James the parchment. "Maybe only a couple of the girls had quills and were writing down the things everyone was saying." James sighed, peering at the writing.

'_Sirius is beautiful_' did look, an awful lot like Lily's writing. At least Remus had said it wasn't Lily's writing, so it was just someone with similar writing. James did notice that it was similar, to the point of actually being identical, but decided to ignore it.

"He definitely just said that to wind you up." Peter reassured him, seeing James's expression. "Don't let it get to you, Prongs. At least we never wind each other up. I think Lily said 'Remus was kind'."

James snorted, appreciatively. "Everyone thinks Remus is kind!" He said. "He's calm and calculating, not kind."

"I'm kinder than Remus." Peter said.

"Very true." James agreed.

"She said I was brave." Peter added. "That was a nice thing to say."

"You are brave." James said. "I _am _brilliant, and Sirius _is _crazy... Please tell me he didn't just mix up the handwriting. Did he?"

"James!" Peter scolded, without looking back at the identical handwriting. "Do you honestly think Remus 'accidentally' told you that the love of your life was ogling your best friend? Remus lives to mess with people's heads. It's his greatest pleasure in life."

"To mess with _my_head." James huffed, crossly.

"_Everyone's _heads." Peter assured him. "Look at what the girls on that parchment said about him. He's manipulative. He's not like us, and he's a homicidal murderer once every twenty eight days. Yet all the girls think is that he's cute and adorable. Even the teachers think he's a little saint. He's never gets blamed for our pranks. Look at Sirius, Prongs! Do you honestly think he is messing with your head, _worse _than he is messing with Padfoot's?"

"_Yes_! Yes, _I do_."

James considered it, his hazel eyes growing dark and worried.

"Remus love Sirius." He said, finally. "I mean… There's no way he'd want to mess Sirius's head up any more than it already is. Padfoot is the only person Remus doesn't mess with."

"Are you kidding?" Peter said; not sure if James _was_ actually serious. "Get the map, James. Two sickles says Remus has already found Pads and is expanding on the fun he's already caused. You _are _too preoccupied with Lily, if you think Remus isn't messing with Pads, James."

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." James tapped the map and watched ink flow into its hidden veins. Both boys searched the layers of floors, for a sign of Sirius and Remus.

"Right... I've found Moony." Peter said, finally. "There." He put his finger down, following the swift moving lone figure down a corridor.

"So where the hell is Sirius?" James flipped over another fold, searching.

Sirius was in the Charms classroom, probably sitting at his actual desk, up against the back wall in the empty room. Even as a name on a map, the stillness and positioning suggested misery.

James jumped. Remus had returned, standing in the doorway, wand already raised to cast "_Accio map_!" as James dived over his bed to snatch at the wand on his nightstand.

Saying nothing, Remus flicked open the parchment, found what he wanted, which both boys were now going to guess was Sirius, and dropped the map onto the floor. He left it there, in the doorway, still revealing its secrets, and vanished back down the staircase.

"...He _is _creepy." James said, grateful almost to have his point proven.

"You're right, as always.` Peter agreed. "Let's get Padfoot, James. He doesn't understand Remus like we do." James nodded, snatching up the map, and flinging his cloak of invisibility over them both.


	5. Sirius is being strange

Sirius was sitting at his desk, in the back corner of the Charms classroom. He jumped as the door opened, but only Remus slipped inside, carefully taking James's seat, at Sirius's side.

"I'm sorry." Remus said, awkwardly. "About the rowing." Sirius looked over at Remus's pale face for a moment.

"_You lied_." He stated. Remus's sigh was a whisper of sound in the still room.

"I only lied afterwards." He said. "I lied about mixing up the writing. Lily did write that you were beautiful. That was true."

"And _crazy_." Sirius added. There was an obvious hesitation before Remus grudgingly nodded.

"Pads." He said, quietly. "That was just a piece of rubbish. Those girls think I'm sweet, kind, and too shy to talk to them. And one of them fancies _Peter.._. Lily, I think." Sirius smiled, faintly. "They're _idiots_." Remus pressed on, heartened. "They are all drugged up on girl-hormones."

Sirius nodded."...You _are_ kind, Moony." He said. "And you are quite sweet." Remus tilted his head, considering it, before his face brightened.

"Well obviously I am. But that's different." He pointed out. "They think you're handsome and crazy; and you _are_ handsome and crazy, Pads."

Sirius didn't say anything. He dug his fingers into his knotted black hair, obscuring his down-turned face. "What do you think?" He muttered.

"About what?" Remus asked. Sirius sighed.

"You said their list was rubbish."

There was a long pause."...You want me to compose a 'Reasons I love Sirius Black' list?" Remus asked, faintly. "This sounds remarkably like a prank, Pads." Sirius nodded, head still dropped in his hands, fingers still ensnared. Remus drew breath uneasily.

"Pads?" He finally reached out and touched Sirius's arm.

"At least I'm not a werewolf?" Sirius asked. He pulled his hands out of his hair and sat up with another weighty sigh. "Sorry." He added.

Remus nodded, glancing uneasily at the hallway, wishing he'd closed the door, although he could see that the corridor was empty and he appreciated that this wasn't the time to jump up and lock them in.

"...Don't be sorry, Pads." He said, instead. "Even Peter would have been upset at that. A hundred love-hungry girls, unable to see past how jaw droppingly handsome you are?"

"And crazy." Sirius said, bitterly. "That's a 'cute' attribute, isn't it?"

"They don't mean 'clawing at your face and crying in the night' crazy." Remus said. Sirius also glanced at the open door and empty corridor, then back at Remus's light smile.

"I am _so _mad." He admitted, quietly.

"Well, your blood is very pure." Remus pointed out. "You're less blue-blooded and almost exclusively Black-blooded." Sirius gave a grim, desperate, laugh. "Maybe it's a plus that girls think blood-madness is cute. They might think werewolf-ism is cute too."

"Some of them would." Sirius assured him. "Did you see that you were the only one of us that those lists gave any valid reasons for loving? James is popular and funny? Peter is unintimidating and helpful!" He shook his head, jaw clenched. "I am just... I am so upset I feel like smashing things... Or bloody crying on you."


	6. Mentally Unstable Boy Veela genes

"There's not much to smash in Charms." Remus pointed out. "Even the windows wouldn't be much fun with all those tiny panes."

"Trust me; you don't want me to start falling all over you in here." Sirius sighed, miserably.

"I do trust you." Remus said, quietly. "That would be pretty high on the list, Pads."

Sirius glanced over at him. "Yeah?" He asked. Remus's smile broadened.

"_Yes_. And James _is _a self-obsessed, spoilt, idiot."

"He's my best friend." Sirius reminded him.

"_I _am your best friend." Remus said, a rare hint of emotion creeping into his own voice. Sirius nodded, putting his head back into his hands, hiding his face again.

"James didn't even notice how upset you were." Remus added.

"If he had, he'd have told me I was being a prat." Sirius, still under his hair, pointed out. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Well, he was too busy ripping me to pieces." Remus snapped. He sighed. Slagging off James, to Sirius, was never clever. "It was just a stupid list." He said, instead.

"That _is_ what I am." Sirius reappeared. "That _is _what I am, Moony. Inside I am pure and utter madness. You have no idea how frightening and deranged everything I think is. You'd run a mile from me if you did. Inside, I am horrific. I am horrific because of them, because of their 'blood purity' and they're inbreeding. All they give birth to is insane children!

"And... And, _and,_ I look like this because I look like all of them! I look like Reggie! And my mother! Like Bellatrix! Andromeda! _I look like Cygnus_! And I am mad! I am mad like all of them!"

"Pads, you're not like... _Sirius? No_!" Remus's chair hit the floor with an echoing clatter. He dived across the room snatching Sirius's hands as he imbedded his nails in his own face, trying to rip them downwards.

"_No!_!" Remus screeched, failing to physically pull Sirius hands away. _"Pads_! _No_!" He begged, wrenching at his wrists. "No! Stop it! This is madness!"

Giving up, he forced himself under Sirius's guard, wrapping himself fully around Sirius's head and holding him, furiously tightly against his chest.

"_You are not mad_!" He said, when no blows fell and Sirius pressed his face against Remus's collar and left it there, sobbing."...You _aren't _mad." He said, making an effort to sound calmer. "It's just stupid hormonal girls, writing stupid lists...

"On the plus side, if you ever want to pass on your mentally unstable boy-Veela genes to hundreds of innocent babies, you are ideally positioned to do so." Sirius laughed, probably at 'boy-Veela'.

"I wouldn't give my genes to _Snape_!" He sobbed. Remus choked, in surprise, which started them both laughing. He tried to straighten up and Sirius tightened his grip.

"Well, I hope for his sake you don't relent on that one." Remus laughed. "'Boy-Veela', because Veela's aren't just pretty but also make men do suicidal stupid things, like walk off cliffs and attack dragons with their bare hands?"

"Thanks. I got that." Sirius assured him. "It was slightly harsh, I thought."

"It was the closest to 'girl-pretty' and 'mad as a box of chocolate frogs' I could come up with at the time."

"My father is in ." Sirius confessed. Remus nodded, not sure if he was stating this as a pro or a con. He knew Orion Black was clinically insane. He wasn't the only Black to be hospitalised with pure-blood madness, either.

"Your mum holds it together." Remus pointed out. Sirius laughed, slightly manically.

"She hasn't left the house in fifteen years." He said. "She'd be in there as well if it wasn't for Cygnus."

"...Cygnus isn't mad." Remus suggested, quietly. A muscle twitched above Sirius's jaw, his face stony. His hands twitched as if they were going to snatch up and attack his face again.


	7. Don't let go of me

**AN: Bare with me here. This story is NOT rl/sb SLASH romance. It looks A LOT like it in this chapter, but this is part of THE PLOT, I promise. When I want to write romance I put it in the romance Genre.**

His hands twitched as if they were going to snatch up and attack his face again. Remus took hold of both of them. Hands not wrists. Wrists didn't work, because Sirius was physically too strong to wrestle with. Hands worked, although Sirius immediately pulled them free, so he could coil his arms around Remus's neck.

"I am so insane." He whispered, into Remus's hair. "That is all I am. A shell, with nothing but unadulterated madness within."

"But it is a _very pretty _shell." Remus whispered back, encouragingly. Sirius laughed again, hugging him tighter.

"_I love you_." He said. He started, almost immediately, to sob again. His breath was hot and damp in Remus's hair. "_I love you so much. Don't let go of me. Please don't let go of me_."

"I'm not letting go of you." Remus told him, calmly. His sharp eyes had moved to the door again, keeping an eye on the currently empty corridor. He stroked Sirius's black hair, absently, trying to hook out the tangles with his fingers.

"That hurts." Sirius said, eventually. Remus's lips twisted into a genuine smile.

"Then you should brush it more." He pointed out.

"I'll cut it off." He took a deep unsteady breath. "I want to get it all off."

"Don't." Remus said. Sirius nodded, paused as he realised this was some sort of complement, and looked up in surprise.

Heartened, he got up and closed the door, flicking the lock. Remus watched, as Sirius made his way back across the room. Without speaking Sirius flung him against the wall and started kissing his face and neck.

"Sirius." Remus said, calmly. "_Sirius_. Sirius, stop it."

"No." His voice muffled against Remus's neck.

"Sirius. We are in the Charms classroom." Remus pointed out, looking at the door again. "It's late. Filch will be... _Sirius!_"

"_Shut up, Remus_." Sirius said, catching his jaw and kissing him on the lips.

"What do we do!?" Peter mouthed urgently at James, who stared in shocked silence through the translucent veil of the cloak. "James." Peter kicked his shin, uneasily. "_James. Creep back to the door_."

"No." James stuttered. He turned widened eyes on Peter, trying to confirm what he was seeing. "No." He said, again.

"_Shhhh_!" Peter warned him. "_Go to the d__oor, James_." He gestured again for James to move.

"No." James said, yet again. "No... No way!" And with that he snatched at the cloak.

"_No_!" Peter snatched back, trying desperately to keep them covered.

"Yes!" James snarled and he ripped the cloak off them, shouting angrily. "Both of you! Stop it! Right now!"


	8. Amortentia

"Stop it, right now!" James snarled, flinging the cloak on the floor.

Sirius and Remus both swung around. For possibly the first time ever they shared identical expressions. A look of pure shock.

Sirius moved first, his eyes catching the Marauding Map in James's hand, the discarded invisibility cloak. James reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wand. Peter hurried to do the same. Sirius didn't actually have a wand with him, but he looked like he might kill someone without one.

"_Sirius_." Remus said. He moved himself off the wall and took Sirius's hand in his own. Sirius actually froze, before looking down at the gesture and up into Remus's face. He turned back to James and let his breath out in a sigh.

"Go away, James." He told him, quietly. Peter, unacknowledged, dived gratefully for the door. James did not. He lifted the wand until it was pointing directly at Remus's face.

"_What have you done to him?!" _He roared.

"_Go away_, James." Remus repeated Sirius's, jerking his head away from the wand. "We're not doing anything wrong."

"_Wrong_!" James screeched. "_Get away from him_!"

Remus nodded. The shock of finding James and Peter in the room had thrown him totally. James's unexpected fury threw him even more. He did nod, but he certainly didn't move away from Sirius or even break hands with him.

"_You_ get away from both of us." Sirius said, sounding surprisingly calm.

"We're just shocked, James." Peter added, coming back to help. "Let's go."

"_Go?_!" James roared. "_He's given him something_!"

"Like Amortentia?" Remus asked, trying very hard to sound calmer than he felt. "You think I've poisoned Sirius, with a love potion?"

"I _know _you have!" James shouted, still stabbing the wand at him.

"Put your wand away!" Sirius ordered. "He hasn't done anything. _Of course _he hasn't done anything!"

"How would you know?!" James demanded. "When has anyone ever known they've been given Amortentia? Trust me, Sirius!"

"James?" Peter hovered nervously. "He hasn't necessarily..."

"Shut up, Peter!" James warned him.

"Why don't you listen to Peter?" Remus said, quietly. "I haven't done anything at all. I think we should go back to Gryffindor Tower, before we all get in trouble."

"I _bet _you do!" James yelled.

"_Stop shouting_." Sirius warned him. "Go away, James. And you, Wormtail."

"We will..." Remus added, finally. "We will come up and find you, in a minute." Sirius glanced at him, and then nodded.

"In a minute." He agreed.

"_Stupefy_!" James yelled. A crack of light shot from his wand hit Remus in the shoulder, knocking him backwards, into the wall.

"_Impedimenta_!" Peter shouted; grimacing as the black vines vomited outwards, coiling themselves around Sirius before he could plough into James.

"_You are so dead_!" James snarled, shoving past them and stalking over to Remus. "You are going to be expelled! _Everyone _is going to know what you've done! And what you are! _I am going to kill you_!"

Remus closed his eyes, his brow knitted with fierce concentration. "_Accio wand_!" He shouted. James's own wand-arm lurched in response, but Peter's wand was flung free and Remus dived on it, hitting James in the chest with a stunning charm of his own.

"...So. You were saying, James?" Remus smirked, walking lazily over to him.

James, dazed from being flung so far, let Peter take his wand and shoot stunning spells across the room. Three _stupefies_, hitting Sirius and the bookcase.

Remus, still armed, deflected a third, returning another wand summon, and then a disarming spell, both of which Peter avoided before he passed the wand back to James who immediately half filled the room with a humming shield charm.

"We have to go. _Now_." Remus said, tugging Sirius up by his arm, and helping him pull off the tangled black vines. "Come on..." He stopped dead as McGonagall's sharp voice cast _Alohorama_! The door swung open with a bang.


	9. Peter, you will tell me what happened

Wand still out, she stared in astonishment at the glowing shield charm and the four students.

"Lower your wand, Master Potter!" McGonagall roared at him.

The spell died and the room was plunged back into semi-darkness. "All of you!?" She added, turning on the spot to take in all four of the Marauders. "What in the name of sanity do you think you are doing in here? Give me that wand, Potter! And you, Lupin."

James huffed. With a final glare at Remus he came across the classroom and gave Professor McGonagall his wand.

"James." Remus turned to him urgently. "Please don't do this. I swear I haven't done anything."

"What _haven't _you done, Master Lupin?" McGonagall asked, clearly furious. Remus looked at her, quiet for a moment.

"...Nothing." He said, finally. "We had a row."

"A _row_?!" She said, swinging back to James, who she presumed was actually responsible for this chaos. "Look at this room! Black! Where's your wand?"

"In my dormitory." Sirius said, honestly.

"Pettigrew?"

"In your hand. Remus stole it."

McGonagall looked back at Remus, who she had been about to ask to explain himself. "Is that true?" She asked, sharply.

"No." Remus said. "He said I could use it."

"You, Lupin, are a Prefect." McGonagall reminded him, frostily. "Please, try to explain to me what happened here."

"_I_ can explain to you what happened here!" James said, angrily.

"Well, please don't." Sirius snapped. "_Please_, James."

"Someone had better start talking, and fast." McGonagall assured them. "How about you, Pettigrew?"

"I will _crucio _you, Peter." Sirius assured him.

"_Black_!" McGonagall gasped. "Threatening to use an unforgivable curse is... unforgivable! Look what you have done to this classroom!"

"He hasn't even got a wand." Remus snapped.

"_Lupin_." McGonagall warned him. "No. _Pettigrew_, you will tell me what happened, this instant. Master Black, you will go to the Head Master's office, immediately, and repeat to him what you just said to Pettigrew.

"Lupin and Potter, go to my office. _Now_! Peter, the truth please..."


	10. Another Lie

Remus and James walked silently through the castle. Both wandless. Both beyond speech. They stopped outside McGonagall's office. Neither of them sat. Neither of them looked at each other.

"...James." Remus said, finally. "Let's sort this out, ourselves."

"No." James didn't look at him. "There is no Us. You are not a Marauder, Remus. You are a dark and foul creature and everyone is about to know it."

"I didn't do anything." Remus said, slightly desperately. "Sirius just likes me."

"Not like that, he doesn't!" James said, biting the words to stop them becoming yells again. "He is going to hate you, when he realises what you've done. We are going to kill you. And _we _are going to tell everyone that you are a werewolf. You are going to be expelled and... And hexed. Horribly. By all of us."

"James." Remus ventured, when McGonagall still hadn't come back. "If I may have done something to Sirius..." James looked back at him, silent, jaw clenched. Remus wet his lips, watching him, cautiously. "If I had done something... You _will _get me expelled, by telling McGonagall... But... I won't be able to explain to Sirius."

"And that's meant to be a bad thing!?" James demanded, spitting in his anger. He even thrust a hand savagely through his hair. "_Sirius will kill you_."

"Maybe he won't be as cross as you think." Remus suggested, quietly. "But either way, if I'm already expelled, he won't be able hex me and tell everyone what I am... _Or_ tell you he understands. If you tell McGonagall, _he_ can't do anything. It's up to him, James."

"As if he's going to care." James snapped. Remus looked like he was going to say something else, but before he could Professor McGonagall swept down the corridor, opening her door with her wand.

"Inside. Both of you. Now." She glared up at them, angrily. "Speak Lupin. An honest account of what occurred."

"…Sirius and James were doing something. I don't know what. I took Peter's wand. He said I could. I was trying to get them to go back to the dormitory."

"And you, Potter." McGonagall snapped, revealing no clue as to how far from Peter's story this was. Remus looked at James as well, unflinching.

"...Like Lupin said." James said, finally.

"'Like Lupin said'?" McGonagall said, angrily. "What were you and Black doing, Potter? What needed a Prefect with a wand to try and get you back to your dormitory? That classroom is destroyed!"

"We were... doing something stupid." James said; well beyond able to make up anything. "Something stupid."

"Pettigrew tells a very different story, Potter." McGonagall snapped. "Are you sure that is what happened?"

"Yes." James said, bitterly. "That's it. Me and Sirius, being stupid."

"Fine." McGonagall snorted. "Detention, every night for a month... And you're off the Quidditch team, both of you, till I say otherwise... And you'll write an apology to Professor Flitwick. And to me! Go to your dormitory! Both of you! I am _disgusted_."

"Don't speak to me!" James warned him, as soon as they were in the corridor. "Tomorrow we are ruining your life. I want you to spend all of tonight thinking about that, you _hateful little bitch!_"

Remus didn't say anything, lips pursed, eyes averted.

James didn't have his wand, so as they passed the Quidditch lockers he tripped Remus with his foot, punched him in the face, as hard as he could, and dragged him into the Gryffindor locker. He used the nearest broom to brace the door closed and, still seething with rage, he headed back to the Common Room. His hand throbbing nearly as painfully as his brain.

"What did you say to McGonagall?" James demanded, slamming the dormitory door.

"That it was all Remus." Peter said, nervously. "I... didn't know what to say, Prongs. I didn't know."

"He said we were setting up a prank and he used your wand to stop us." James spat. "I said it was true."

"Right." Peter nodded, watching James pacing from his bed.

"Where is he?"

"Locked in the Quidditch locker, till tomorrow."

"Okay. Right... Should we wait up for Sirius, James?"

"No." James glared across the room at him. "Go to sleep."

"Okay, James." Peter quickly lay down and covered himself with his blankets. Listening to James pacing the room as he went to sleep.


	11. Quidditch Lockers

Sirius returned to a silent dormitory. It was nearly dawn and cold light filtered through the windows. James and Peter's were the only beds occupied. He was quite exhausted himself. His hands and knees were sore from sanding burn marks off the Charms rooms' scorched floorboards, and repairing the room without his wand. He felt sick and lost.

Finally he went over to James' bed and shook his shoulder, watching his irritable waking, pulling on his glasses and blinking Sirius into focus.

"How do you feel now?" James asked, uncertainly. Sirius looked pale and tired.

"Angry." He said. He didn't sound angry.

"With me or him?" James added. "…Or both of us."

"With you." Sirius said. He went over to his own bed and lay down on it, staring at the wall.

"He did do it." James said, watching Sirius uneasily. "You are going to want to kill him, tomorrow. He admitted it to me."

"Admitted what?" Sirius said, continuing to stare at the wall.

"That he'd given you something, to make you feel like that. Sirius, we've spiked enough people with Amortentia. Remember what Snape was like? And Hagrid... Please try to remember what they were like, Sirius."

"I feel like that." Sirius said. His eyes were sore and his eyelids heavy. The sun was starting to pour through the curtains. "I feel exactly like that, James. I am going to feel like that tomorrow and the day after and the day after that. I am just mad, James. I am mad, and Remus puts up with it more than anyone."

"We'll talk about it in the morning." James said, very calmly. "You sleep it off, Sirius. If I'd got McGonagall to give you an antidote, you wouldn't have been able to deal with Remus yourself."

Sirius didn't say anything, so James put his glasses back on his nightstand and got back into bed.

"Get up!" It was the Head Boy, Philip Nox. He was shaking James by the shoulder, as the other two boys stumbled out of bed. "McGonagall wants you in her office, now!"

"What time is it?" Peter asked, stumbling blearily from beneath his covers.

"You've missed breakfast." Nox said. "What the hell is wrong with you lot? God help Gryffindor next year. Get up, Potter!"

Nox's nose met James's wand as he turned back from addressing Peter. James's lips twitched into a smile. "We already rule this school, Nox." He informed him. "And you know it."

"You have indeed made being Head Boy a misery for me." Nox assured him. "Black, put your wand away!" He added, without bothering to look behind him. "You're in enough trouble already. Potter, pretend you're Pettigrew or Lupin and lie your face off. Crawl in on your hands and knees if you have to, but get yourselves back on the team. I mean it."

"What?" Sirius asked, behind his back. Nox glanced round at him.

"You're off the Quidditch team, Black." He told him, damningly. "Until you stop being idiots. Slytherin match in two weeks. It's the last one I'm ever playing and I'm _not _loosing to Goyle because of you idiots. Go and sort it out. On your knees, Potter, if you have to." He added. "I mean it."

"We're off the Quidditch team?" Sirius asked, as soon as Nox had gone.

"Yes." James glanced at him, but carried on yanking on his clothes. "I'll meet you in Charms." And out he hurried, in a flurry of black robes.

"Where's Remus?" Sirius asked, finally. "Where's the map?"

"McGonagall has it." Peter admitted. "And the invisibility cloak. She doesn't know what it is though, the map. I had time to do '_Mischief Managed_'. We'd better get to class. The bell's already gone."

They hurried, together, to Charms. Sirius peered through the door, but he didn't go in, grabbing Peter's arm to stop him trying to. "Remus isn't there." He said, quietly. "Where is he?" The grip on Peters arm became bruising as he stammered, until Sirius gave him an angry shake, and slammed him against the stone wall.

"Quidditch locker!" Peter yelped. "Don't hit me! I didn't do it!"

"Do what? Quidditch locker?"

"The Quidditch lockers." Peter said, looking back at Sirius warily, as he rubbed the back of his head. "I think James is waiting till you feel more like yourself." He admitted, quietly. There was still no comprehension in Sirius's eyes. "_In_ the Quidditch locker. Locked in. I think..." And then they were off, hurrying through the corridors, Peter dragged by the front of his robes.


	12. Goodbye Moony

"Moony?" Sirius yelled, yanking the broom from across the locker and peering into the cold darkness, before diving inside.

"Get off me, Pads. I'm fine." Remus snapped, clambering angrily into the corridor. A bruise covered most of his cheek, sore and swollen. The remains of a nosebleed were dried on his pale skin. He looked frozen and venomous.

"You're really cold." Sirius told him, having got the message and keeping his hands off.

"Take my robe." Peter offered. "Are you alright?" Remus studied him, eyes glistening angrily.

"I wouldn't take your robe if I was naked." He spat angrily, shoved Sirius off his arm again, and stalked down the corridor, towards Gryffindor Tower.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, in alarm.

"Don't be an idiot, Sirius." Remus snapped, continuing to chuck things into his trunk.

"You're being the idiot." Sirius said, stepping awkwardly into the room. "Moony, I owe you an apology."

"Well, save it." Remus assured him. "That's the last thing I want. Money would be more helpful." Sirius's lips twitched into an uncertain smile.

"You can't go." He said. "You haven't got anywhere to go."

"I'll get a job in March." Remus said, emptying the draw of his nightstand into the top of his trunk. "A Muggle one, if I have to."

"You didn't do anything." Sirius said. "I know you didn't poison me."

"Well, that's good." Remus didn't bother to look up; scanning his corner of the dormitory for anything he'd missed.

"…Why did you tell James you had, Remus?"

"You _do _think it's possible then." Remus snapped.

He looked over at Sirius, finally. He looked pale and anxious."...Try to stay sane, Pads." He said. "If you can manage that, everything else will just fall in your lap. Money, respect, everything. You've only got one more year to get through. Get a girlfriend. Preferably one that wants to spend a lot of time looking after you."

"You haven't got anywhere to go." Sirius said again.

"I'll pose as a Muggle." Remus shrugged. "Muggles can be married and supporting twins at sixteen. It's a different world, Pads."

"None of this is your fault." Sirius said. "I'll sort it out. Don't... go."

"Have I ever looked incapable of sorting out my own problems?" Remus snapped, peering under his bed and scooping out a couple of books. "And have you ever managed to sort anything out, for yourself, ever? I wouldn't rush to start on other peoples' problems, just yet."

"God, you're mean." Sirius flashed him a cautious smile.

"I'm right." Remus said. "Do you have anything of mine that you want to give back?"

"No." Sirius said, without hesitation. "Stop being a coward. You're a Gryffindor."

"Not anymore." Remus assured him. "Now I am a Muggle. And a Werewolf. That's enough things to be, by anyone's standards. Goodbye, Pads."

"...Bye Moony." Sirius said.

"Sirius has let Remus out." Peter whispered, catching up with James outside the Transfiguration class. "You get your wand back, James."

"Flitwick's got them. What's Sirius like now?"

"What is he like?" Peter asked. "Like he's drank about ten bottles of Amortentia." He watched James sigh, as if he actually considered this likely. "But he hasn't, Prongs." He added, timidly. "You do get that, don't you? That he hasn't."


	13. The Best Years

It was cold on the station platform. A hard heavy knot twisted in Remus's stomach, like he'd eaten lead, and the wind blew dust into his eyes. There was only a week till the full moon. Being a werewolf was more than enough to deal with. Friends were stupid. The worst idea he had ever had, and he'd come up with some really stupid ideas in his time. Nothing hurt like this.

He wished Sirius would show up on the platform. He wasn't going to stay, either way. It would just be nice. Sirius _was _nice. Undeniably, James and Peter were too. Trying to befriend a werewolf stretched the boundaries of niceness. He didn't hold a grudge.

He didn't want to think about any of them, at all. Ever again. That was going to be hard. Maybe too hard. He thought of the pros and cons of jumping in front of the train, instead of boarding it. He'd once promised Sirius he'd never kill himself. Also, he was rather terrified of pain.

He probably would have to kill himself, if he couldn't find anywhere to transform safely before the full moon. He'd have to, if he didn't want to go around attacking people. The thought was quite a relief.

He saw the other Marauders, no, _The _Marauders hurtling towards the platforms on their brooms. He wished he had James's invisibility cloak, but he had nothing. He dragged his trunk into the waiting room and sat on a bench in the far corner, out of sight from the window.

They came in together. All three of them. Little pink cheeked Peter, scrawny James, and handsome Sirius.

He wondered if James had managed to convince Sirius he had been drugged into lovesickness. He wondered if Sirius had convinced himself. If he had, it would probably be the most sensible thing he'd ever done, in his whole life. It was what Remus would do, in the circumstances. Just, it would have been nicer if he'd waited to do it after the train had left.

James still had his wand in his belt. None of them looked about to hex him, which was something. There expressions reminded him of when they'd found out what he was a werewolf.

"The train is going to come at any minute." Sirius said, abruptly. He was talking to James.

"Yes." James agreed, hands thrust into pockets, eyes thoughtful. "Remus..." He sighed. He actually looked like Sirius had marched him to the platform to apologise. Like some sort of angry father with a scolded child.

"You are being pretty stupid, leaving school." James also told him. "And you keep too many secrets. Friends are meant to talk about things."

"Girls are meant to talk about things." Remus said, blinking at him. "And you know my secrets, James. I've told you everything. I'm a werewolf. What do you want me to tell you? I kissed Sirius when he was crying? You already know. You were hiding behind us, watching under your invisibility cloak. I'm sorry I'm not the paragon of virtue that you are."

"You're cross." James agreed. "No one can blame you for that. And confused. But you are still a Marauder."

"No. You dumped me out of The Marauders yesterday." Remus reminded him. "I am not a Marauder, so I owe you nothing. I am not a Gryffindor, so I don't have to pretend to be brave. I'm not confused either. To be blunt, Sirius is confused and..." He glanced over at Sirius, who bore this with hurt silver eyes and no comment. "God knows I love him, James. But I am not any of the things you think I am, nor am I any of the things you think I

should be. I am just me. And now, I am getting on the next train that comes into this station and getting as far away from this as I possibly can."

"You're not allowed." James said. He backed up to the door quickly, but he didn't get his wand out. His hands were in front of him, trying to placate. "I need to apologise for hitting you, although you did really bring it on yourself and I would have been a rubbish friend not to have."

Remus did actually appreciate the honesty, the utter James-ness of that. His voice went a bit pathetic as he said thanks. This, in turn, prompted a moment of hair shuffling for James, and a thrusting of the glasses back up his nose. Remus remembered how totally James had accepted his lycanthropy. While Sirius had spent a whole year fuming about being lied to.

"I think these were the best years of my life." Remus admitted. The lead in his stomach was churning. An actual pain ran through his chest, as he thought about it, reminding him to get a grip. "I actually do." He pressed on. "These _were_ the best years of my life and you were all the best friends I'll ever have."

"That anyone's ever had, ever?" James suggested, with a hint of a grin.

"For me." Remus shrugged.

"We'd better go back to school." James added. "McGonagall is already spitting feathers over me and Sirius doing 'stupid stuff' yesterday and we're both off the Quidditch team. I mean you, Remus, obviously." He added. _"You _had better come back to school, before the teachers' notice we're all down here."

There were responses in Remus's head. There were refusals. There was a pathetic part of him that really wanted to say 'yes please and thank you very much'.

On the far side of the waiting room window the train chugged into the station, and screeched as it released a blast of hot steam. James didn't look round at it. None of them did. "Come back to school, mate." James told him.


	14. A night to remember

Ch.14

James grinned in relief, when Remus nodded. "I'll get your trunk." He flicked his wand out and lifted it in a single fluid movement. "Come on, Peter. We'll put Moonys' trunk in the dorm."

"I can manage." Remus assured him.

"No. I've got it." James headed quickly away. "Come on, Peter."

"How about I get it?" Sirius suggested, using his considerably stronger 'Wingardium Leviosa' to wrestle it free of James's spell and glide it out of the door, ahead of them. The three other wizards followed him onto the steamy platform and over to their brooms, where James stopped again.

"Right." He said, evenly. "Peter and I will go to the kitchens and get some lunch. You two go to the dorm. Peter and I will meet you there, with food and drink."

"Right you are, James." Peter agreed, happily.

Remus sighed, swung onto his own broom and sent it sweeping up the hill. Peter and James stopped, pretending there was something wrong with Peters' broom. Sirius considerately stopped to help them, which Remus appreciated. He arrived back at the castle as alone as he'd left it.

"Food!" James announced, brightly. He dumped a tray of pasties and fruitcake onto his bed and thrust Sirius into the room. "Peter's got pumpkin juice. I'll go and help him." And he dived back through the door, pulling it closed

"I'm assuming you didn't ask him to do this, Pads?" Remus asked, putting his book down. He hadn't read a single page, but holding it had seemed better than just sitting there, waiting for his trunk and food to be brought up.

"No, of course not. You know what James is like." Sirius shrugged. "I took your advice, by the way. I got a girlfriend."

"Right." Sirius smiled at him.

"I got you one too." He added. "I was going to go with that one that said you had a nice eyes but that one that said you were quiet, bookish and shy, seemed like a better bet. Anyone who thinks those are loveable qualities has got to be worth some of your time, haven't they?"

"Sounds bearable. You got me a study companion?"

"Quite." Sirius's smile broadened.

"And yours?"

"Rosemary Jones." Sirius said. "Our Seeker?"

"That's romantic. You can practice Quidditch together…"

He paused as James reappeared in the doorway, looking worried. His expression suggested he hadn't actually left the top of the stairs but had been listening to them.

"You haven't really done that, have you, Sirius?" James asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Why? Are you going to start vetting my girlfriends as well, Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"No. _But_." James pointed out. "_You know_. Don't you think...? You know, girlfriends. If we're cool with Werewolves... We can be cool with this?"

"I thought you'd gone to help Peter with the pumpkin juice." Sirius pointed out.

"I've got it here!" Peter called helpfully, peeping out from behind James's back. "Are you finished?"

"Not quite." Remus said. "What's my new girlfriends' name, Pads?"

"Matilda." Sirius said, failing to stifle a grin. "Millie. How cute is that? And we're all going to Hogsmead, Saturday week."

"Great." Remus returned the grin. "Are Prongs and Lily invited?"

"Of course. And Peter with whomever that girl who thinks he'd 'make a lovely boyfriend' is. I forgot to ask Lily who wrote that, but I'm on it, like James on a Firebolt."

"Like James on Lily." Remus muttered.

"_But_..." James said, unhappily. "_But_..."

"Have a pumpkin juice!" Peter suggested.

He went over to his nightstand, bustling over the cups.

He tipped a good few drops of pink potion into the bottom of one before filling it to the brim with thick orange pumpkin juice. Swilling it quickly he passed it to Remus. `Waitress service even when it isn't the full moon.` He pointed out, cheerfully.

Between Remus and Sirius, Peter had used an entire full sized bottle of Amortentia potion over the past weeks. He emptied the last of it into the half empty pumpkin juice bottle and swirled it in as subtly as he could before passing it to Sirius.

"Bottoms up, Padfoot." He said, keeping his face straight as he watched him taking a thirsty gulp.

"...Hey, James!" Peter added. "Why don't we go and find some Firewiskey? I know where Madame Hooch keeps her supplies and I think you and me deserve it, after the week we've had."

"Hell yes!" James jumped up. "This, Peter, is going to be a night to remember."

"It certainly is, Prongs." Peter agreed. "_It certainly is_."


End file.
